ROCKED by the death of his mother and questioning his priorities in life, TV host Andrew Denton has told the ABC he wants to "get off the screen".

Aunty's favourite uncle has spoken about the emotional turmoil he feels will lead to the demise of his popular chat show Enough Rope.
"I want to go away for some time and relearn things, step away from the media, have another look at life," Denton revealed this week.

"I've told the ABC I want to get off the screen. I'm looking forward to the end of Enough Rope, which will be in the foreseeable future."

Shattered when his mother Le died last year, the usually gregarious 46-year-old was left reassessing his life direction.

"When your mum dies, in particular, that's the mother ship. There's no getting out now. You're an orphan," he said.

Denton, married to broadcaster Jennifer Byrne, said other factors prompting him to step out of his comfort zone were his advancing age - which he called "the gentle caress of gravity" - and his son Connor.

High on his list of things to do besides travelling and learning how to swim is spending more time with his family.

"I'm good at making TV but at most other things in life I'm crap," Denton said.

"My boy's 12. That's what life's about - and every time I look at him I'm filled with life."

While the demise of Enough Rope appears imminent, Denton insisted he would stay committed to his other talk-show creation David Tench Tonight.